Beavers beat Bears

January 9, 2013

CALCUTTA -The Beaver Local boys' basketball team trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before rallying to outscore Oak Glen, 36-19, in the second half to pull out a 57-50 victory Tuesday night at the Beaver Dome.

The loss drops the Golden Bears to 2-8.

"We had a 10-point lead at halftime, and I thought we were playing very well," Oak Glen head coach Dave Smith said. "We were moving the ball well. They played a 1-3-1 zone, and we planned on that. They were a little more physical, and we didn't handle that well.

Oak Glen used the 3-point shot effectively to build its early advantage.

All told, the Golden Bears drained eight shots from beyond the arc. The Beavers connected on six shots from long range.

The Beavers ripped off a 16-5 run to open the third quarter, enabling them to take their first lead of the game at 37-36 on a basket by Hudson with 3:47 showing on the clock.

Beaver Local ended the quarter on a 7-3 spurt to take a 46-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

All told, Beaver Local outscored Oak Glen, 25-13, in the quarter.

"They attacked the bucket," Smith said. "They have guard good play. They attacked the basket."

It was more of the same in the fourth quarter as the Beavers continued to play well on both ends of the floor.

After Howell scored the first four points of the period to give the Golden Bears a 48-46 lead, the Golden Bears ended the game on a 11-2 run to put the game away.

"One of the big things was our best players and our best scorer was not on the floor," Smith said. "Cody Howell is averaging 16 or 17 points per game for us, and he has to be on the floor. He has to stay on the floor. It had nothing to do with the officiating.

"He has to move his feet. Tonight, it was on him. He has been a good player all year. Tonight, it was a letdown. He will bounce back and learn from this."